Presto's Blog

I had time this weekend to do a little research and have posted the results in the main part of the Web site. This time around I have a clear, detailed explanation of how magician Criss Angel walked across Lake Mead on his Midfreak show, and the secrets behind Ellusionist’s newest effect Flow (which won’t be their newest after tomorrow, so I had to get this in as quickly as possible).

To this day I still get a lot of hate mail from people complaining about my original (and exacting) description of how Criss Angel walked across a swimming pool. Some people have even gone so far as to send me detailed mathematical proofs that my explanation is “impossible”. But doing the impossible is pretty much the essence of magic, isn’t it? Sigh — when will people learn.

Please keep sending me your questions. I’ll answer some more later this week.

Finally I’ve received another question! My dear new friend Jordan writes:

how does criss angel turns a little 8 year old to a 20 year old?

I have not personally seen Angel perform this effect, but the secret is well known to television magicians. The secret is simple: an eight-year-old child is selected and filmed. Then the camera is turned off and not turned on again for twelve years. After that period of time, the child is filmed again.

When the resulting film is played, the child seems to instantly age. You see, viewers assume that no time has passed when the camera is not recording, in the same way that a child will assume that you cannot see him when he has his eyes covered and cannot see you. It’s a simple psychological fact.

Don’t believe me? Watch Angel perform the effect again when you have a chance. Notice how his skin tone deteriorates slightly just as the girl ages “instantly”? It’s because a dozen years have passed.

Simple!